Help Rotary End Polio!

Posted by Glen E. McCrary

on Jan 18, 2011

After 20 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.

Rotary is "this close" to achieving its goal of a polio-free world, and a wide array of public figures and celebrities have signed on to help Rotary spread the word.

Rotary clubs can use the ads within their communities to increase awareness of and support for Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge , the ongoing effort to raise $200 million for polio eradication to match $355 million in challenge grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Your contribution will help Rotary raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The resulting $555 million will directly support immunization campaigns in developing countries, where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families.

As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk. The stakes are that high.

Rotarians may go to www.rotary.org/contributeto make their online contribution. Rotarians will need to be registered with Rotary's Member Access. Through Member Access, Rotarians are able to access online services and features. Rotarians may register for Member Access at www.rotary.org/memberaccess. NOT a Rotarian? NOT a problem! Go here to help Rotary end Polio for all time - www.rotary.org. You can also text Polio to 90999 for a $5.00 donation.

Rotary has helped reduce the spread of polio throughout the world since 1985. Polio is:

A crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease, polio (poliomyelitis) still strikes children mainly under the age of five in countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Polio can cause paralysis and sometimes death. Because there is no cure for polio, the best protection is prevention. For as little as US$0.60 worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life.

It can cause paralysis within hours, and polio paralysis is almost always irreversible.

In the most severe cases, polio attacks the motor neurons of the brain stem, causing breathing difficulty or even death.

Historically, polio has been the world's greatest cause of disability.

If polio isn't eradicated, the world will continue to live under the threat of the disease. More than 10 million children will be paralyzed in the next 40 years if the world fails to capitalize on its $5 billion global investment in eradication.

As of 30 September, Rotarians have raised about $147 million for Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge. These contributions will help Rotary raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The resulting $555 million will directly support immunization campaigns in developing countries, where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families.

As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk. The stakes are that high.

"If we all have the fortitude to see this effort through to the end, then we will eradicate polio."